Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 123: Three Crossings of the Xiangjiang River

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    After receiving the news that Xiang Rongbu had come to support them, Xiao Yungui and Zuo Zongtang looked at each other, thinking that they had come after all.

    After sending back the soldiers who came to report the news, Xiao Yungui touched his chin and said: "There are still forty miles to go. It seems that the messenger should have been sent for help yesterday and in the spring." Leiyang is more than 80 miles away from Hengzhou. Normally,  The marching speed is the distance of a forced march in one day, but the marching speed of the Qing army cannot be eighty miles in one day. The most likely reason is that Xiang Rong only sent troops this morning, and the Taiping Army finally completely wiped out the Qing army in Pingcheng in the afternoon.  Then they went into the city to pacify the people and guarded various places until dusk. It was normal for the Qing army to walk forty miles on this day.  .

    But Zuo Zongtang shook his head and said: "He Chun is as timid as a mouse. He must have sent a messenger to ask for help on the first day. Xiang Rong delayed for a day before sending troops. It seems that Xiang Junmen planned to make us fight with He Chun until we are exhausted.  He¡¯s here to clean up the mess.¡±

    Xiao Yungui laughed, sat behind the desk in the county government hall and said: "In this case, Xiang Rong, an old man, is also a heartless guy. He only cares about his own support. How can he do this when the Qing court officialdom is so strife?  Undefeated?"

    Zuo Zongtang shook his head and said: "Xiang Rong didn't expect that Hechun would lose Hengzhou City on three days. He always thought that he could defend it for three, five, or seven days. But that's okay, then we can arrange it calmly.  Deal with Xiang Rongbu."

    Xiao Yungui nodded, ordered someone to spread out the map and asked, "So from what you see, sir, how will Xiang Rong use his troops?"

    Zuo Zongtang pointed to the map of Leiyang and said: "The official road from Leiyang to Hengzhou is sandwiched between the Lei River and the Xiang River. After passing Liaotian Town and Xiangyang Town, it is most likely to find an opportunity to cross at Dongyang Ferry.  The Xiang River then goes north to help Hengzhou. There is another way, like us, to cross the pontoon bridge on Dongzhou Island to the west. There is also a road that goes a little further and crosses the Xiang River north from Songjiang Town, Hengnan County. This  We have to walk more than ten miles. News of the fall of Hengzhou will reach Xiang Rong's ears sooner or later. This old fox may be unable to move forward on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. It will be difficult to suppress Xiang Rong's tribe."

    Xiao Yungui looked at the map, pondered for a moment and said: "In that case, we will set up an ambush, send more than 3,000 people to block Dongyang Ferry, and let go of the Dongzhou Island camp as a bait to make Xiang Rong think that we are only focused on defending Dongyang Ferry.  Ignoring Dongzhou Island, when he raises troops to attack Dongzhou Island, we will ambush thousands of troops on the island, and we will surely kill Xiang Rong by surprise." Dongzhou Island is located in the center of the Xiang River southeast of Hengzhou, and is four miles long.  From left to right, it is about half a mile wide, with a beach area of ??25 acres. The water to the east is more than half a mile wide, and the water to the west is one mile wide.  There are nunneries, academies, ancient trees, peach blossoms, and beaches on the island when there is little water.  The island is surrounded by water, with dense trees and green shade, and a very quiet environment. Yueyang Junshan, Changsha Orange Island, and Hengyang Dongzhou Island are also known as the three continents in the Xiangjiang River Basin.  Xiao Yungui remembered the example of Shi Dakai's ambush and defeat of Xiang Rong in Orange Island during the Battle of Changsha in later generations, and wanted to copy it. Dongzhou Island also had the conditions to ambush the Qing army.

    But Zuo Zongtang smiled slightly and said: "This method is very good. It can work wonders against ordinary Qing generals, but I'm afraid it won't be able to hide it from Xiang Rong, an old fox." Zuo Zongtang pointed to Songjiang Town on the map and said: "  At first, we crossed the Xiang River from the east of Hengshan, bypassed the Cao River, crossed the Xiang River to the south, and crossed the Xiang River to the west to attack the south of Hengzhou City. Why not we crossed the Xiang River three times, and took a long way to cross the Xiang River for the third time from Songjiang Town, cutting off the road to Xiangrong and blocking the front.  Live in Dongyangdu and Dongzhou Island, and surround the Xiangrong tribe on the land flanked by the Lei River and the Xiang River.  The only places suitable for large armies to cross the river downstream are Quanxi Town and the Dukou Village of Chashu Town. Once we cross the Xiangjiang River eastward, we can quickly capture Xiangyang Town and cut off the ferry of Chashu Town. The only ferry available to Xiangrong is Quanxi Town.  , when Xiang Rongbu really wants to flee eastward, we can win a complete victory by attacking halfway across the border!"

    Xiao Yungui was surprised and looked at the map. Sure enough, from the northernmost intersection of Lei River and Xiang River to Songjiang Town, this area is an irregular triangular area, with Xiang River to the west and Lei River to the east. Once  Passing through Xiangyang Town in Xiangrongbu is like entering a big natural pocket.  At that moment, Xiao Yungui laughed sinisterly. Zuo Zongtang was indeed cunning and cunning, and he was familiar with the geography of central Hunan. According to Zuo Zongtang's plan, Xiang Rong would shed his skin this time even if he didn't die.

    "Okay, let's fight the battle of crossing the Xiangjiang River for three times!" Xiao Yungui clapped his hands and laughed, and suddenly thought of the battle of crossing the Xiangjiang River for three times. Why does it sound so familiar?  But he didn't think of Taizu's battle across Chishui.

    After the plan was agreed upon, Xiao Yungui immediately ordered all the generals to gather, leaving Zeng Tianyang, He Zhenchuan and more than 2,000 people to guard Hengzhou.  Xiao Yungui personally led Zuo Zongtang, Li Kaifang, Li Yiwen and 4,000 troops to continue southward to Songjiang Town to cross the Xiangjiang River and copy Xiang Rong's retreat.  Ji Wenyuan, Zhu Xineng and 2,000 men and horses guarded Dongzhou Island, while Lin Fengxiang, Lin Qirong and 2,000 men and horses guarded Dongyang Ferry.

    Songjiang Town is more than forty miles away from Hengzhou. It is in Hengnan. The journey is neither far nor close. Because he doesn¡¯t know whether Xiangrong will stay overnight on the way or whether he will drive all night, Xiao Yungui plans to go south as soon as possible.The camera moves.

    In the evening, after the four thousand Taiping troops had dinner, when night fell, they left the team again at night.  The Taiping Army in the West Palace has been fighting all year round and has become accustomed to traveling at night. Although there are many new recruits in the army at this time, most of them come from poor backgrounds and are used to hardship and hard work. Under the leadership of veterans, the Taiping Army marches at a much faster speed than  The Qing army needs to be quick.

    At the second watch that night, the army rushed to Songjiang Town. The Qing army in Hengnan did not even know that a Taiping army passed by outside the city.  There were only a few local regiments in Songjiang Town, and they were killed by the Taiping Army while they were sleeping. More than ten ferries at the ferry were all robbed by the Taiping Army.

    Xiao Yungui ordered the Taiping Army to stay overnight in Songjiang Town and blockade the entrance to the town. They still hung the flag of the Qing Army to confuse the Qing Army on the other side.

    The next day, spies dressed as Qing troops were sent to the other side to investigate. Soon after, news came back that Xiangrong's army had passed Liaotian Town in the morning, and there was no doubt that the Taiping Army would appear on the south road.  Xiao Yungui was overjoyed and immediately ordered the troops to demolish the houses in the town, collect wood and bamboo to build pontoon bridges, and rafts to cross the Xiangjiang River.

    In winter, the water flow of the Xiangjiang River is low and the river is much narrower. However, in order to cross the Xiangjiang River, the Taiping Army's vanguard soldiers carried wooden rafts and bamboo rafts to cross the river in advance. Many wooden rafts and bamboo rafts were hastily built, and there were many rafts on one raft.  Many people were squeezed in, causing many rafts to scatter and soldiers to fall into the cold river water. The scene was extremely chaotic for a time.

    When Xiao Yungui and Zuo Zongtang arrived at the ferry, they were both very anxious. Xiao Yungui could not help but go up and reprimand Li Yiwen, who was commanding the front army to cross the river.  Li Yiwen was very aggrieved. He also wanted to cross the river quickly and asked his generals to pay attention to the rafts to be tied tightly and not to mount too many soldiers. However, his generals were also eager to fight, so they ignored it.

    "What? Did you say that your generals didn't care?" Xiao Yungui became more and more like the King of the West. He did not give any face to the future loyal king. He frowned and said angrily: "If you tell me again, they will definitely turn a deaf ear! We must do things.  Be careful. If you tell your subordinates some details ten times, it¡¯s good if they can hear it once. If you only tell them once, they won¡¯t take it seriously!¡±

    Zuo Zongtang hurriedly came up to dissuade him and said: "Xi Wang, General Li is also eager to fight, so let's forget it this time."

    Xiao Yungui frowned and said: "Okay, let's forget it this time. We will settle the account after this! Yiwen, you have to remember that details determine success or failure! We are alone outside, and any detail may lead to defeat. Marching and fighting are especially  Pay attention to the little things so that you can become a qualified general!" After saying that, he turned and left.

    Zuo Zongtang and Li Yiwen were stunned on the spot. They both chewed on Xiao Yungui's words that success or failure is determined by details. After a moment, Zuo Zongtang sighed and said with a smile to Li Yiwen: "The King of the West is really a weirdo. Success or failure is determined by details."  The sentence is insightful and reasonable, and it is indeed something that we have overlooked before. General Li, the King of the West actually loves you very much. These admonitions are also true, hoping that General Li can take charge of his own affairs as soon as possible.  "

    Li Yiwen's face relaxed, and he nodded and said: "Thank you, Mr. Zuo, for telling me. I understand, young general. From now on, I will pay more attention to the little things as King Xi said." The two looked at each other and smiled, and a storm was over.  .  In the future, Li Yiwen kept Xiao Yungui's words in mind when he was marching and fighting, and he took care of every detail. As expected, he made fewer mistakes, which was very helpful to Li Yiwen's early growth.

    Dozens of soldiers who fell into the water were rescued and raised bonfires on the shore to keep warm. Falling into the water in winter is no joke. Xiao Yungui had to order these soldiers to stay and guard Songjiang Town and look for an opportunity to withdraw to Hengzhou.

    After noon, most of the Taiping Army had just completed crossing the river, and Xiao Yungui led the army to pounce on Liaotian Town.

    The rear army behind Xiang Rongbu was more than 1,500 Qing troops led by Qing guerrilla general Xiao Fengchun.  This Qing army has just arrived at Liaotian Town. The former army and Xiang Rong's Chinese army have already headed towards Xiangyang Town. Xiao Fengchun is following behind with some army provisions and is making a fire in the town to cook.

    The Qing army's rangers outside the town discovered the Taiping Army and flew to Xiao Fengchun in the town, saying that thousands of long-haired bandit soldiers were found in the south.  Xiao Fengchun was munching on a roast leg of lamb when he heard the words and laughed and cursed: "Damn it, are your eyesight? How come there are long-haired thieves in the south? Aren't they attacking Hengzhou right now? Where are they from?  So many long-haired thieves? Could it be that some untouchables wore red headscarves and pretended to be long-haired thieves? Let¡¯s take a closer look to see if they are really long-haired thieves. If it¡¯s true, I admit defeat. If it¡¯s fake, we can just take credit from these rogues.  !¡±

    After eating the leg of lamb mixed with a large bowl of Wuling wine, Xiao Fengchun let out a wine burp, then stood up lazily and said, "Let's go out and see who these people are!"

    Walking out of the house of the largest wealthy family in the town, I saw more than ten Qing troops rushing to the front angrily. The leader reported to the general manager urgently: "My lord, those who come from the south are really long-haired, under the banner of the fake King Xiao of the West!"
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report